poetryoftheamericasfandomcom-20200213-history
Reading David Mack's Kabuki as Poetry
David Mack’s Kabuki is a long-running comic book narrative that spans across multiple volumes and displays an array of artistic and literary innovations which places it at the avant-garde of modern storytelling. As a continuously emerging art form, comic books—otherwise known as graphic novels or sequential art—stand on the cutting edge because of the collage-based nature of the medium, which synthesizes narrative storytelling with visuals. Yet recent trends in storytelling experimentation in comic books have produced works that are difficult to define as traditional narratives. Indeed, though the genre itself eschews tradition, what is currently being produced by certain artists and writers can only be described as poetry in the form of comic books. This new meshing of mediums utilizes the aesthetics of poetry (such as diction, form, spacing, repetition, rhyme, etc.) as essential tools for expressing deeper ranges of emotion, developing complex characterization, and enhancing the narrative beyond the confines of traditional prose-based storytelling. On the forefront of such new poetics is writer and artist David Mack, whose work on the ever evolving comic book series Kabuki serves as an exemplar for the changes in store for sequential art narratives. The Importance of Reading Kabuki as Poetry Comic books are not typically thought of in terms of literariness, let alone in poetic artistry. David Mack’s Kabuki acts as a unique example of how the comic book medium can ascend to new story-telling heights. This study seeks to explore the manner in which Kabuki can be reevaluated as poetry, adding depth and insight not only to the genre, but to literature itself. Graphic Novels as Literary Medium Within the past three decades, comic books have taken a sharp turn toward popularity, achieving mainstream acceptance as a legitimate literary form. Some comics, such as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Art Spiegleman’s Maus, have even been used in college classrooms. Within bookstores, over the last ten years alone, the graphic novel selection has ballooned from a single shelf, to multiple shelves, to entire rows devoted to the medium. Yet despite the popularity of the medium, very few books have actually taken steps to break with the tried-and-true. Rather, most confine themselves to the superhero genre monopolized by corporate owned Marvel and DC. However, readership continues to grow for the medium, and great works are being produced—granted, they receive less attention than deserved. Alan Moore, famed author of Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, once stated in an interview: “There is an endless amount of untapped potential in the comics medium. … We’ve barely scratched the surface of what can be done” (Wiater and Bissette 172). One reason comics prove to be such a fascinating form is because the combination of mixed media—words and pictures—can be utilized to express a story in any conceivable literary genre. Thus, when artists and writers come to the medium with ideas to tell non-fiction historical narratives, autobiographies, or even abstract narrative-less performance pieces, the form is ideal. It can even be argued that the form lends itself quite well to poetry, though the thought is at once tantalizing and absurd. Poetry is meant to be read or spoken aloud, not looked at. Poetry is the flow of words to express thoughts and ideas, albeit laden in metaphor, rhythm, and appropriate imagery. How can comic books ever come close to poetry? While discussing that very concept, Andrew Arnold writes: “Practically since their inception, comics have shown their ability to achieve powerful artistry through the inspired use of condensed, musical, and highly structured language” (12). Therefore, when examined more closely, it is possible to view comics in a different light. The words on the page may be spaced apart—likely with panels—creating a unique rhythm, not unlike in a poem. The language utilized may contain colorful metaphors, evocative imagery, not unlike in a poem. Likewise, poetry, when understood properly, functions not from a reader simply scanning a text, but through synthesis of the content of a text with a reader’s own life. In a 2013 interview, David Mack expresses thoughts along these same lines: “… poetry has spaces in it for the words to mean exactly what they’re saying, but at the same time, the words can mean something extra that you don’t immediately see. It depends on what the reader sees, the life experience they have or what baggage they’re bringing to it” (Jenkins). Comic books function in the same way. Authors Kukkonen and Haberkorn argue that “it is here that poetics and rhetoric intersect with the study of reception and culture. No comic exists, as it were, on an otherwise blank canvas. Rather, it is embedded in a cultural background, and read in the context of the reader’s mental landscape” (242). This is a concept rarely achieved in prose, for in traditional narratives the reader is not required to give anything but attention to the plot and characters. Yet some comic books, such as David Mack’s Kabuki, have pushed the medium into a realm that not only incorporates poetic devices, but also expects a great deal from the reader. Background on Kabuki Kabuki consists of a series of interweaving stories, set in a near-future Japan, concerning a group of female assassins utilized by a secret government organization called The Noh. Each woman has a unique codename, costume, and mask which they wear while performing contract killings. On the surface, the bulk of the narrative deals with one assassin in particular, Ukiko, codenamed Kabuki, who because of a corrupt infiltration of The Noh, breaks with protocol and seeks to disassociate herself from the life of a hired assassin. However, in order to do that, she must first exact revenge. Beneath the surface, however, the story actually concerns the manner in which Ukiko attempts to reconnect to her mixed heritage as Japanese and Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan, while also avenging the restless spirit of her mother—who was raped and disfigured by Ukiko’s father. One of the primary reasons Kabuki reads like poetry, is the fact that the real story is not about the action, it is about how a woman copes with the burden of history that exists between the mother she never knew, the man who raised her, and the man who sired her. It is very much a character driven narrative. In an 2001 interview, Mack explains: “I wanted to design a book that I could tell personal stories through, and also integrate a lot of my current passions, interests, personal experiences and constant learning and personal evolution” (Rappaport). This is quite obvious throughout Kabuki. Thus, while much of the content seems rather traditional, even clichéd at times, reekings of action thrillers, Mack incorporates a decidedly poetic feel throughout the Kabuki books, with text-based imagery intermeshing with the graphics in a multileveled narrative where images detail action sequences, while the text consists of metaphorical or imagistic insights from the protagonist’s perspective. The Art and Writing Style of Kabuki One of the most fascinating aspects of Mack’s work on Kabuki is that it has evolved over time. Volume One, Kabuki: Circle of Blood, follows what can be considered traditional trends of the independent comic book scene of the 1990s, it was printed black and white—typical of low-cost, low-risk publishers. When the follow up volume, Kabuki: Dreams, emerged, the art had shifted dramatically. Mack went from stark black and white to the brilliant world of color, with painted pages. Unlike the layouts of the first volume, which were produced like most comics—pencil and ink—''Dreams'' consists entirely of surrealist watercolors, which completely breaks with the form and style of Circle of Blood. Discussing this very element, comic book author Brian Michael Bendis writes: “Each story has its own visual personality and evolution just as it has its own unique literary tone and atmosphere. David’s storytelling marries the art and writing together in such a way that they become indistinguishable from one another and create his own new form of graphic language” (Introduction). Mack has received high-praise from many comic artists and writers for Kabuki, and for the degree of exploration, alteration, and innovation of the art. Famed comic artist and writer Jim Steranko, while introducing Kabuki: Circle of Blood, states: “Mack takes the concept a step further, deliberately changing styles to underscore specific scenes, sometimes depicting a tight, controlled line when the story warrants or taking a more casual, even chaotic, direction when his characters undergo dramatic trauma.” Painter Alex Ross, while introducing Kabuki: Skin Deep, writes: “The inventive page design and multi-media composition serve to communicate the story more efficiently and personally. It’s almost like being inside the guy’s head. Or rather, the art pulls the reader into the story, and into the minds of the characters. It becomes an interactive process in which David gives the reader just enough information for them to use their own heads.” And, a master of mix-media himself, Bill Sienkiewicz, in the introduction to Kabuki: Metamorphosis, lauds: “''Kabuki'' surpasses the dreams we had of the medium’s potential and has taken the art form to a new level. Mack gives readers his all: fascinating character, story, metaphor, beauty, horror, intrigue. It’s incredibly personal work. It ebbs and flows, it builds and caresses. It plays with subtext, suggestion, and then pummels our complacency and expectations.” Unlike more reticent authors and artists, Mack is quite forthcoming about his artistic intentions, often candidly sharing his reasoning or thinking. In his Afterword to Kabuki: Dreams, Mack explains “… after I finish the art, I realize that I have to eliminate more that half of the words. In the case of this book, I realized that things did not happen in words. So I needed to cut out ninety percent of the text and fit the remnants together into something that more closely resembled a poem.” Mack’s awareness of poetics within the Kabuki series imbues the stories with a greater depth, and it is his willingness to be different from other comic books that makes Kabuki such a challenging joy to experience. by Nathan Calley Works Cited Arnold, Andrew D. “Comix Poetics.” World Literature Today: 81.2 (2007): 12-15. JSTOR. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Bendis, Brian Michael. Introduction. Kabuki: Dreams. Mack n. pag. Jenkins, Henry. “Comics as Poetry: An Interview with David Mack.” Confessions of an ACA-Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins. HenryJenkins.org, 2 May. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. Kukkonen, Karin, and Gideon Haberkorn. “Workshop 1: Toward a Toolbox of Comics Studies.” Comics as Nexus of Cultures. Eds. Mack Berninger, Jochen Ecke, and Gideon Haberkorn. Jerfferson: McFarland & Company, 2010. 237-244. Print. Mack, David. Afterword. Kabuki: Dreams. Mack n. pag. —-. Kabuki: Circle of Blood. Fullerton: Image Comics, 1997. Print. —-. Kabuki: Dreams. Orange: Image Comics, 2001. Print. —-. Kabuki: Metamorphosis. Orange: Image Comics, 2000. Print. —-. Kabuki: Skin Deep. Fullerton: Image Comics, 1998. Print. Rappaport, Adrienne. “''Metamorphosis'': David Mack.” SequentialTart. Sequential Tart, 1 Sept. 2001. Web. 25 Oct. 2014. Ross, Alex. Introduction. Kabuki: Skin Deep. Mack n. pag. Sienkiewicz, Bill. Introduction. Kabuki: Metamorphosis. Mack n. pag. Steranko, Jim. Introduction. Kabuki: Circle of Blood. Mack n. pag. Wiater, Stanley, and Stephen R. Bissette. Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics. New York: Donald I. Fine, 1993. Print.